National Apprenticeship Week 2025 - Key takeaways…

As we write this, National Apprenticeship Week 2025 is in its dying hours. This week has been as much fun as it always is with so many events and get togethers across the country and social media, we really enjoyed it. But with all that activity and so much information on offer …what is the overarching message?

In a Nutshell:
Developing our people is the Key to Business Growth and UK economic prosperity

It is no longer up for debate whether or not developing people is worth it for your business. The view that training is just a drain on time and resources has perpetuated for far too long and that in itself is crippling at a micro (individual team member) level and macro (the wider business) level. Business growth happens when people growth happens - proven fact!

Whilst a business stays in its comfort zone, happy that its people know enough, it will be unable to grow, unable to sustain its market position, it will be stunted and actually gradually fall behind.

NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK happens primarily to raise awareness and to educate business owners of the vital part training plays in their own success!


Take a look at two of the events we ran during National Apprenticeship Week >>

Solving the Challenge of Recruitment and Retention
View HERE on LinkedIn



Understanding Business Apprenticeships - Forum for Employers
View HERE on YouTube

In our closing words of NAW2025, we wanted to pick out the most frequent concerns we hear from business owners about apprenticeships during National Apprenticeship Week:

—————————————————-

If I invest in training an apprentice, what’s in it for my business?

Our answer: Everything.
Having an apprentice is not about that person’s benefit at the expense of company time, money and effort - that is a common misconception.

First and foremost, training must happen for the business to have the skills to operate, to succession plan and to reach its own potential. Look at how successful a business is that has well trained talent. Look at what products and services they are able to offer in the marketplace and the competitive edge they have. But that’s not all, the benefits go far beyond that. Businesses we work with have seen huge benefits from having their staff trained by external professionals through the apprenticeship system. Large cost savings have been happening, fresh ideas, greater efficiencies, reduced workload, increased web traffic, higher client spend… to mention just a few.

—————————————————-

If I invest time and effort to train someone well, I think they’ll then just leave.

Our answer: Let’s look at what research tells us keeps people in a job and what causes them to leave…

1. Lack of Career Growth – Employees leave when they feel stuck with no opportunities for promotion or skill development.

2. Poor Management – Bad leadership, lack of support, or a toxic work culture can drive employees away.

3. Better Pay and Benefits – People often leave for higher salaries when they need to earn more to live comfortably within the cost of living.

4. Work-Life Balance Issues – Long hours, excessive stress, or rigid schedules can push employees to seek better balance elsewhere.

5. Lack of Recognition and Appreciation – Employees who feel undervalued or unappreciated may look for a job where their efforts are acknowledged.

6. Company Culture and Environment – A toxic, unsupportive, or misaligned company culture can be a major reason to leave.

7. Job Insecurity – Layoffs, restructuring, or uncertainty about the company’s future can make employees seek stability elsewhere.

8. Desire for a Career Change – Some employees leave simply because they want to explore a different industry or role.

Looking at that list, half of those talk about “because of lack of support” to grow or succeed.

Training is actually a method of keeping people.

We all remember the regimes that we have worked in, whether in a job or a community situation, where we have been held back from reaching our potential because it would have stepped on someone else’s toes, or shown someone up that we are out performing them, or just because of a short-sighted view of what’s in it for them of investing in another. We know that had they invested their time and energy into us, wanted us to succeed and supported us to do that, we would have stayed so loyal and worked our socks off to do our best for them, even for lower money than we could earn somewhere else. That’s what training does.

As Richard Branson famously said… “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to“

—————————————————-

If I take on an apprentice, that’s another wage we have to pay, and we’re just a small company

Our answer: So, you can upskill existing staff with the apprenticeship training scheme. You don’t have to take on a new member of staff. No-one is too old or too well trained to benefit from more training, so long as it is the right training for them and their stage of learning. Apprenticeships go right up to Masters degree level. Don’t be swayed by the term apprentice, we are all an apprentice of someone who is more knowledgeable than ourselves.

The apprenticeship scheme exists for exactly this purpose, to support businesses where investing in training would normally be too expensive. It opens the door to accessible, quality, practical training for all staff in all businesses for the benefit of all, but primarily for the prosperity of the business.

—————————————————-

Whatever your question, please drop us a line and we can talk you through all the different options and help you find the right type of training and funding for you and your team. enquiries@swarmtraining.org.uk

Let’s keep building up our people and in turn build our businesses!